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A Court of Law
A Court of Law
Alexisandra M. Garland
CJA/224
April 29, 2012
Sylvia Beaver

A Court of Law
A Court of Law

Modern courts today have a lot to attribute to the early development of the
court system and first courts themselves. Discussion here shall be based on how
specifically the courts developed, what a court is by definition, what purpose they
serve, what a dual court system is, and the effect of early law and precedent on
the criminal justice system of today. The importance of comprehending these
aspects of the court system lies in understanding the United States government,
and in turn better understanding the rights granted to American citizens under the
Constitution of the United States of America. Ignorance may be bliss to most,
however knowledge is power to all.

Todays court system that America has been so graciously blessed with
while other countries are not so fortunate is directly and entirely attributed to the
Founding Fathers upon drafting the Constitution of the United States of America,
the ratification of the United States Constitution ushered in a new system of
government (Yurs, 2011). The criminal court system is provisioned under Article
Three of the Constitution and was one of the very first actions of our Founding
Fathers, organized chiefly by the first three articles of the Constitution, a federal
government began to take shape (Yurs, 2011). The first Congress then
provisioned the Judiciary Act of 1789, Article III, which organized the judiciary,
remained short and ambiguous. The Founders charged the First Congress with

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the task of organizing the federal judiciary (Yurs, 2011). This act detailed the
jurisdiction and abilities of the Supreme Court and lower courts.

For all intensive purposes a court can be described as a gathering of one

or more magistrates that enact justice based upon current laws and regulations.
The preservation of a separate branch of government that adjudicates actions at
law and suits in equity with impartiality and nality (Orth, 2009), in this great
country they serve a pivotal role in the criminal justice process. Courts are the
place where individuals can go when they feel as though they have been
wronged or their rights violated. It is also a place where justice is delivered on
matters of Constitutional violation such as murder or being withheld freedom of
speech. Todays court system, much as they did in previous decades and
generations of Americans, ensures that all Constitutional rights are adhered to.
Subsequently this maintains some varying degree of peace in this great country,
without them our criminal justice process would be nothing but ineffective chaos
and America would no longer be the great democracy that it is known to be,
leading to anarchy and disarray.

One great aspect of our amazing court system is the dual court process.
This means that state and federal courts are separate and decide on matters of
separate content. State courts reserve the right to hear civil and criminal cases
based strictly on violations of state laws and state constitutional matters.
Whereas federal courts have the ability to hear civil and criminal cases of a

A Court of Law

Constitutional, federal, or special subject matter such as bankruptcy. This allows

for a degree of separation between the two court systems preventing
disorganization, overflow of workload on just one court circuit, and having cases
heard by the wrong nature of law. Furthermore it also enables magistrates and
legal officials to specialize in a particular type of law. Serious issues unable to be
adequately handled by the state or federal court systems shall have the
opportunity to be heard at the Supreme Court level, lower court opinions will
inuence the content of the Courts opinions to the extent that the justices
perceive that integrating language from lower court opinions will aid them in
making efcacious law and policy (Corley, 2011).

Much like with anything else early law had a great impact on the court
system of today. Before the standardization of the criminal justice process laws
and regulations differed greatly from county to county. In order for the American
legal process to progress and for all counties to get on an even playing field so
that citizens were not getting away with more than they should, or not getting
common liberties as well, courts were made to be uniform and therefore so were
the laws governing each county, no longer did the thirteen states merely hang
together by the threads of a confederation; they now bonded to each other as
one nation (Yurs, 2011). During this time judges and juries also became a
common practice, all cases except civil causes of admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction, shall be by jury (Yurs, 2011), and thus the criminal justice system in
place today was born through many years of development and improvement.

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Now when a decision is rendered by the Supreme Court a precedent is set, the
United States Supreme Court renders a decision, the Courts opinion becomes
binding precedent, constraining the decision making of future Supreme Courts,
lower court judges, and executive branch agencies charged with adjudicating
disputes related to the case (Corley, 2011).

The American court system is comprised of multiple cohesively and

efficiently functioning components that allow the criminal justice process
employed by American citizens to operate as a democracy. It developed over
time through the growth of our government in combination with the creation of the
United States Constitution and the Judiciary Act of 1789 by Congress. Without
the court systems the Judiciary branches would be unbalanced and the United
States of America would struggle to ever achieve balance, peace, and justice.

A Court of Law
References

Corley, P. C., Collins, P. M., & Calvin, B. (2011). Lower Court Influence on U.S. Supreme
Court Opinion Content. Journal Of Politics, 73(1), 31-44.
doi:10.1017/S0022381610000848

LANDE, J. (2008). The Movement Toward Early Case Handling in Courts and Private
Dispute Resolution. Ohio State Journal On Dispute Resolution, 24(1), 81-129.

ORTH, J. V. (2009). Legislating the Courts: Judicial Dependence in Early National New
Hampshire.American Historical Review, 114(5), 1443-1444.

Yurs, D. (2011). The Early Supreme Court and the Challenges of Riding Circuit. Journal
Of Supreme Court History, 36(3), 181-192. doi:10.1111/j.15405818.2011.01270.x